A lesson on manners in the court

Tuesday

Jun 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 25, 2013 at 3:35 PM

An old expression warns of the potential danger in contesting Mother Nature.

The same might be said of judges.

A Burlington woman was handed a tough and well-deserved dose of judicial medicine for whatever was ailing her Monday in Alamance County District Court. Whether she learned anything from it is another story for perhaps different day in court.

We’ll see.

But on Monday she pushed the patience of District Court Judge Jim Roberson to the limit — and then some.

In a scene right out of a TV sitcom — or even a riff on the 1980s movie “The Breakfast Club,” 22-year-old Octavia Nicole Briggs pretty much dared Roberson to put her in jail, then upped the ante.

According to witnesses, Briggs was creating a disturbance in the Alamance County Civil Court Annex prior to being brought by a bailiff into the courtroom where she continued to verbally abuse people with profane language. Roberson asked Briggs to be quiet. Her response was to use more obscene language, inviting the judge to do a lewd act.

Roberson felt obliged to hold her in contempt of court and imposed a 30-day sentence in the Alamance County jail.

Then she said the same thing again.

And got another 30 days from Roberson.

For good — or bad — measure, she said it one more time, just in case the judge didn’t fully grasp the gravity of what she was talking about.

And received another 30 days for her third effort.

Apparently Roberson and others heard her loudly and clearly.

“She called him the foulest name you ever heard. I don’t think anything would have stopped her. I think the judge could have kept on and put her in jail for a year and it wouldn’t have mattered to her,” said Deputy Victor Tripp, a bailiff in the courtroom.

For those keeping score, Briggs will be spending the next 90 days in confinement considering the error of her ways.

It’s also a reminder to all that a day in court is a serious matter and judicial officials should be treated with courtesy during those proceedings. Intentionally running afoul of a judge is something best avoided. They are the rule makers and enforcers in court. In fact, we’re reminded of a quote by the late legendary journalist H.L. Mencken who observed that a judge is like “a law student who marks his own papers.”

Perhaps next time Briggs will remember. Then again, since she was further charged with injury to real property for damaging the glass window of a door after appearing before Roberson, maybe not.